The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team dropped two more games on Nov. 25 and 28 against the McGill Martlets and Concordia Stingers in another challenging trip to Montreal.
Nov. 25: 4-2 loss at McGill
Carleton’s second matchup of the season against the Martlets was notably better than McGill’s 7-2 beatdown of Carleton in the second week of the season.
Carleton worked hard to keep up with McGill, the third-ranked team in the country. The Ravens were outshot 11-6 in the first period but they turned up the pressure and outshot McGill in the second and battled hard in the third.
The shots ended 35-32 in favour of the Martlets, a significant improvement for the Ravens. Carleton is averaging just 21 shots a game and is normally outshot by 15.
Despite their efforts, Carleton came out of the first period behind after taking two penalties. Ravens defender Kate Lengyel was sent to the box for body contact after a weak hit in the corner. McGill scored six seconds into the power play when a loose puck was swatted on net, beating Ravens goaltender Marie-Ève Côté.
Three minutes later, Ravens forward Nicole MacNeil was penalized after boarding a player in the defensive end. Carleton’s penalty kill failed again as McGill scored eight seconds into the power play with a long shot through a successful screen.
Carleton has struggled playing from behind all year, rarely rallying after a first-period deficit.
McGill scored early in the second period, but Carleton responded with offensive pressure. Two minutes later, Carleton broke through with a great solo effort. Defender Nicole Hunter carried the puck in over the blue line and beat the goalie with a great shot.
Momentum seemed to swing in Carleton’s favour as they dominated the second period shot column. They came close to scoring when two McGill penalties compounded for a lengthy Ravens power play.
However, special teams failed again for Carleton and the period ended with McGill maintaining their 3-1 lead.
Similar struggles came in the third as Carleton mounted pressure but failed to convert their opportunities. The Ravens were awarded another power play late in the third but halfway through the advantage, McGill scored shorthanded with a fast two-on-one break.
Carleton scored on that same power play half a minute later with a scrappy goal, but it was too little too late.
Nov. 28: 9-0 loss at Concordia
The Ravens looked exhausted and defeated from the start of their Sunday afternoon matchup.
The lightning-quick Concordia Stingers dominated Carleton for the entire 60 minutes. The Stingers opened scoring five minutes into the game with a short-handed goal, the fourth time this year Carleton has conceded on the power play.
Carleton continued their power play, but Ravens defender Angelina Callocchia was given a four-minute penalty for crosschecking the head. Thirty seconds of four-on-four ensued before Concordia gained the power play advantage and scored again.
Concordia followed this up with another power play goal and an even-strength goal. Four goals on 16 shots was enough for head coach Pierre Alain to relieve Côté of her goaltending duties for the afternoon.
Frédérike Lavoie-Leroux had a marginally better evening as she made tough saves against an endless barrage of Concordia shots. Carleton did little to stop the onslaught and despite multiple power play opportunities, the Ravens failed to muster any offence themselves. Leroux allowed five additional goals on 29 Concordia shots.
Concordia made a goalie change of their own, swapping out Madison Oakes for rookie Jordyn Verbeek at the second intermission. The two goalies combined to shut out all 17 of Carleton’s shots.
After the weekend, Carleton was tied for last in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) with the lowest stats in most measurable categories.
Featured image provided by Kyran Thicke/Concordia Stingers
